The police's investigation of a crash which killed two people in Northland was "inadequate" and had "serious deficiencies", the police watchdog has found.
The crash occurred in the southbound lane on State Highway 10 in Kerikeri on the evening of April 2, 2018.
The driver and front passenger of a Subaru station wagon travelling south was killed in the collision, while two other passengers were seriously injured. The driver of a Toyota van travelling north and his passenger were also injured.
During their investigation, police determined the driver of the Toyota, an American tourist, had caused the crash after his car was found in the wrong lane at the crash scene.
He was charged with two counts of careless driving causing injury or death three hours after the accident to ensure he remained in the country while the investigation was completed.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) wrote in their report, released today, that the initial decision was justified.
However, police then escalated the charges against the tourist to five counts of aggravated careless driving causing injury or death. The authority found that the police prosecutor "did not have an evidential basis to escalate the charges".
The IPCA determined that due to the police serious crash analyst seeing the cause of the collision as "clear cut", the investigation was "not sufficiently robust given the seriousness of the crash and the likely criminal charges".
It also found that the police's case "relied heavily" on the statement of one of the survivors in the Subaru, who said the Toyota had been on their side of the road and heading towards them before they crashed.
The other survivor in the Subaru said he did not remember the impact.
'Should have asked for more assistance'
The IPCA found that the initial officer in charge, Officer A, had no prior experience attending a fatal crash involving a possible offender and victims, where the possible offender was still alive, and they should have asked for more assistance and experienced staff.
In the "chaos at the scene", the watchdog found officers failed to ensure all of the key witnesses were interviewed by the appropriate staff, and that the survivors' statements were "not sufficiently detailed, or fact-checked appropriately".
It also noted that Officer A had failed to record in the police database, his notebook, or in job sheets, the actions and contacts he made throughout the investigation. He also failed to adequately update the family of the deceased on the police investigation and "did not respond to communication or requests from the prosecutor in a timely fashion".
The police watchdog also found the subsequent officer in charge, Officer C, was "insufficient" in supervising Officer A.
The analyst was also criticised for his role in the investigation.
During his analysis, which was completed in less than an hour, photographs were taken and the scene was marked but he was unable to complete the scene mapping as the equipment had been sent away for calibration.
There were also conflicting accounts regarding whether the analyst was present when the vehicles were removed for inspection and forensic examination to maintain the integrity of the evidence.
"We note it was the Iwi Liaison Officer who ensured the cars were transported separately to maintain the integrity of the evidence," the police watchdog said.
"Officer C should have overseen this process and directed the tow truck operator how to store the vehicles to maintain their integrity for the ongoing investigation."
The tourist driver of the Toyota applied for the charges to be dismissed.
Four days before the hearing, on May 28, 2019, lawyers for the driver submitted new statements from the survivors, who said their friend, the driver of the Subaru, had deliberately caused the crash. The lawyers theorised he had been in an allegedly suicidal state, and impaired from alcohol and drugs.
The five charges against the driver of the Toyota were dismissed after the judge found there was insufficient evidence for the case to go to trial.
The driver of the Toyota was awarded $30,000 after his lawyer applied for full indemnity costs.
"The authority acknowledges the resourcing constraints faced by rural police stations such as those in Northland, including the limited access to training and supervision," the IPCA said.
"However, despite the inherent constraints of working in a rural station, the onus was on the officer in charge of the investigation to seek assistance when he recognised the job was beyond his capabilities."
Acting Northland District Commander Inspector Dion Bennett today accepted the IPCA’s findings.
"We understand the impact these tragic events have had on the families involved and accept responsibility for our role in this situation.
"Police has since made changes to our serious crash investigations including establishing a Detective Sergeant and CIB [Criminal Investigation Branch] investigator role within the road policing group, developing a guide for staff undertaking interviews of persons involved in crashes, providing serious crash training and increasing the number of staff recruited into the area and improving rostering.
The serious crash investigation policy for Northland was updated in July 2022 and now requires CIB involvement in any fatal crash investigation, up to the point when the relevant Area Commander decides on the appropriate level of the inquiry.
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